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FAM group show to feature drawings focused on fracking by Victor Pacheco

By Bonnie J. Toomey, Correspondent

Updated:
08/28/2014 07:02:17 AM EDT

Victor Pacheco

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FITCHBURG -- The Fitchburg Art Museum's opening reception for Victor Pacheco's "One Language is Never Enough" will be held 4-7 p.m. Sept. 21.

FAM will showcase the works of several Southern New England Latino artists, including Pacheco, as a group. The exhibition will feature 24 contemporary artists who currently live and work in Connecticut, Massachusetts and Rhode Island. All can trace their roots to Latin America -- countries such as Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Cuba, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Mexico, Peru and Venezuela, as well as the U.S. territory of Puerto Rico.

Born in Fajardo, Puerto Rico, and raised in Hartford, Conn., Pacheco lives with his family in Worcester, where he also has his studio.

He describes the FAM exhibit as an extensive show in terms of the number of artists.

Pacheco will give a gallery talk with Ingrid de Aguiar Sanchez and Guido Garaycochea at 2 p.m. Oct. 26 in English and at 3 p.m. in Spanish. It's part of an ongoing series given by the many artists whose work will be featured.

Pacheco credited Associate Curator Mary Tinti with the exhibit's title, which indicates a working together through the arts and cultures of many.

"She's got a bit of a challenging job. She selected the artists and organized the exhibit visually. ...

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There are Latino artists in the show, which is a start-off point for thinking about language and communication and how art works in terms of people," Pacheco said.

Pacheco explains what he creates is influenced by environmental issues, but he says many of the artists focus on issues of identity, tradition and politics.

"I'm a sculptor, and I started looking at hydraulic fracking. My wife and I were living in Rochester, N.Y., and saw these signs with a line going through it -- I had no idea what it was," he said.

After researching, Pacheco learned that fracking is a method of finding oil and natural gas by drilling vertically and then drilling horizontally by blasting water and chemicals into the earth.

"There's an immense amount of water injected into the hole to open up the cracks to find where the gas is stored. They are able to extract natural gas at a higher rate using chemicals, and there's a lot of controversy over what that means for our water sources," said Pacheco, who says corporations "use chemicals detrimental to the landscape and contaminate our water and impact wildlife and nature around those resources."

Pacheco hopes his work will inspire the public to have a conversation about what hydraulic fracturing really means to the environment.

"Some of the contamination got into the water stream, and people were getting sick," said Pacheco, who started with conceptual drawings of how he visualized the process worked.

"It's been very interesting looking at how much is being set out in terms of timeline. Two years ago there wasn't a lot of information for the public. But people organized and demanded that companies become more transparent," he said, adding, "Still they don't disclose everything."

The artist says he's not trying to take a stand, but he is trying to get people to think about fracking's impact.

As parent of a 2-year-old, he said he is concerned about fracking. Nonetheless, he does not want to be viewed as taking an activist approach.

"It's just a visual in terms of my work. Some of it's a little confusing because some of the pieces are visually pleasing to look at. It puts in the question, 'Is this a great thing or a bad thing?'" he said.

Even so, Pacheco has heard concerns raised during the current debate surrounding the proposed Kinder Morgan gas pipeline. He says people are afraid it could lead to fracking here. "My work is not the sign on the lawn with a line through it. It's just asking the viewer to think about it."

Pacheco said that public response to his work has been interesting and encouraging.

His work "Extraction" is on display through Sept. 7 at Real Art Ways in Hartford, Conn. In that work, Pacheco's drawings of storage tanks, oil rigs and underground hydraulic boring holes give the view of what's happening above the ground as well as below the ground.

"The reviews have been great in terms of understanding. It's a subtle approach. You spend a little time looking at the stuff and then you start to realize, 'What is this?'" he said.

Another Pacheco work, "Ambiant Folklore," is being exhibited at the Krikorian Gallery in Worcester Center for Crafts through Sept. 27.

"The work in that show is work that is more humorous," said Pacheco about his sculpture of a 6-foot frog.

At FAM, Pacheco will show 15 to 17 pieces of relatively large drawings, some 4-by-5 feet, as well as sculpture pieces.

"When I sculpt, I use reclaimed material for most of the current ones, which are made from high-density foam, the same stuff they use for construction in buildings. I apply a surface treatment to give it some color. The overall appearance is metallic or earthy, heavy material," he said.

Pacheco, who grew up in Hartford, remembers taking art classes in first grade with a teacher who brought the students on small field trips to museums after school.

He received his bachelor of fine arts in sculpture from University of Hartford, then earned a master's in the same subject from Rhode Island School of Design.

Pacheco is at home part-time caring for his daughter.

"She is already finger-painting," he said.

Pacheco teaches sculpture and drawing as an adjunct at Assumption College in Worcester.

The display will be presented in collaboration with the Cleghorn Neighborhood Association, the primary service organization for Fitchburg's Latino and Latino-immigrant communities. This exhibition and its programs are funded in part by the Elsi D. Simonds Lecture Fund.

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